Financial Technologies and Multi-Commodities Exchange (MCX) promoter Jignesh Shah and former MCX head Shreekant Javalgekar were today arrested in the Rs 5,600-crore National Spot Exchange (NSEL) scam case, seven months after an FIR was lodged.
"Financial Technologies chief Jignesh Shah and former managing director and chief executive of MCX Shreekant Javalgekar were today arrested in the NSEL case. Both are also members of board of directors of NSEL and members of the spot exchange's audit committee," Rajvardhan Sinha, chief of the Economic Offence Wing of Mumbai Police, told reporters here this evening.
Both will be produced before the court tomorrow, Sinha said, adding the total number of arrested persons in the case is now 11. NSEL chief executive Ajnani Sinha had been arrested on October 17 last year.
"During our long probe, it was uncovered that Shah and Javalgekar had hatched a criminal conspiracy with the other accused who were running this particular exchange as a non-banking financing company and this led to the default of Rs 5,600 crore payment to over 11,000 investors," the Additional Police Commissioner said.
The FT Group owns 99.99 percent stake in the now crippled commodities spot exchange which was ordered to be closed by the government on July 31 last year following a payment crisis.
The arrests came seven months after an FIR was registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EoW) of Mumbai police against Shah (promoter-director of the NSEL) and others on charges of cheating, forgery, breach of trust and criminal conspiracy to make quick profit.
Former MCX head and CEO Joseph Massey is also an accused in the NSEL scam.
Shah's arrest is likely to cripple the FTIL and delay its plan to get is 26 percent stake in the country's largest commodities exchange reduced to 2 percent. FTIL was asked both by Sebi and FMC to divest its stake after the company and its promoter Shah were declared unfit to run any exchange in the country following the NSEL scam.
Government ordered the shutdown of NSEL, promoted by FTIL, on July 20 last year after its new contract could not be renewed.
